Question: Subtract. $7.2 - 5 =$
Answer: There are many ways to solve this problem. Let's see two ways we can solve it. Place Value We can think in terms of tenths: $\begin{aligned} &\phantom{=}7.2 - 5\\\\ &=7.2 - 5.0\\\\ &=72\text{ tenths} - 50\text{ tenths}\\\\ &=22\text{ tenths}\\\\ &=2.2 \end{aligned}$ Place value table Let's line up the numbers by their decimal places. Ones $.$ Tenths ${7}$ $.$ $2$ ${5}$ $.$ $0$ Now, let's subtract each place value column. Ones $.$ Tenths ${7}$ $.$ $2$ $-$ $5$ $.$ $0$ $\underline{~~~~}$ $\underline{~~~~}$ $2$ $.$ $2$ $7.2-5=2.2$